Calisthenics essentially means body weight exercise; weight training with the weight of your body as the resistance, rather than the need for an external weight.
Calisthenics uses progressions and regressions, it uses mechanical advantages and it uses gravity to make exercises easier or harder…. and of course not forgetting resistance bands! This means that beginners can take up calisthenics easily with basics such as incline push-ups or bodyweight rows and the advanced athletes can progress as far as one arm pull-ups and human flags, there really is no limit! Calisthenics also has the benefit of requiring minimal equipment; all you need are gymnastics rings and the floor to get a full workout in. No excuses for missing a workout when you can do a full workout from your home or local park, very convenient and inexpensive!
Calisthenics requires much use of stabilisation and core muscles. This is because the core has to support the bodyweight in many positions, and whilst hanging, stabilisation muscles are needed to stop the body falling or swinging. As well as this calisthenics is loaded with compound exercises. Compound exercises are exercises that require the use of many different muscles to be used at once. These two requirements of calisthenics means that the body works hard and consequently more calories are burnt which leads to greater fat loss than other forms of resistance training, whilst still building muscle!
Calisthenics requires the building of skills and not just strength. Participants will improve their body awareness, neuromuscular connections and hand eye coordination, especially when upside down trying to learn the handstand. Because calisthenics is skill based, a real community feel surrounds it. Participants get really involved helping each other out with how to master certain skills and useful tips and tricks to help others grasp different moves.
